Set at the turn of the last century in 1900, a couple buy a large house which has been on the market for 40 years, but when a young lady joins them as a companion she becomes possessed by the ghost of a tragic former occupant. This is not a horror film as such, rather a drama with a supernatural element.

There’s little more plot to it than that, but the aim of the director isn’t to terrify the viewer but rather to evoke a certain mood of nostalgia and mystery.

The film is of interest because we see an array of famous faces of the era, including Barbara Mullen, Margaret Lockwood and Dennis Price, although the real treat is James Mason’s performance as an elderly Yorkshire gentleman.

Apparently when he first read the script, he liked it and wanted to do it. The film was not a financial success but in my view it should have been – my own take on this, as with many other British films of the time is that we were not good at marketing and promoting them particularly to the US market which was the one to aim for.

A Scene during filming ABOVE

Ernest Thesiger – ABOVE –  He played  the mysterious Dr. Marsham in this film although the picture is not of this film. He had a very distinctive face.

He really was an interesting and unusual person who didn’t seem to fit any particular norm – but he is a fascinating character.

An accomplished  stage actor as well as a film actor in more than 60 performances both in Hollywood and England

He was wounded in action in the First World War.

He was an accomplished watercolour artist and embroiderer (and even published a book entitled ‘Adventures in Embroidery’).

He was a great friend (and crochet partner) of Queen Mary and is even said to have based his later appearance on her.

In this film ‘ A Place of One’s Own’  he plays Dr. Marsham a mysterious doctor who appears at the end of the film